Davis and Allenby lead ace Aussie field at Singapore Open
Singapore - Cameron Davis, the rookie professional who recorded a stunning victory in the Emirates Australian Open at the end of last year will compete in next week’s SMBC Singapore Open, organisers revealed today.
The rising star will lead a strong Australian contingent in the US$1 million season-opener, that includes Robert Allenby, Marcus Fraser, Jordan Zunic, Adam Bland, Terry Pilkadaris, Todd Sinnott and Matthew Griffin.
All will be hoping to emulate the feat of their countryman Adam Scott - winner of the event a record three times.
The tournament tees off on January 18 on the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club, and is jointly-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation.
Davis, aged 22, is the talk of Australian golf at the moment having claimed his national title at The Australian Golf Club in November in sensational circumstances.
He came from six shots behind going into the final round to win by one stroke, shooting a seven-under 64 that included a birdie on the 18th and an eagle earlier in the round when he holed a 100-metre approach shot.
“It’s a little bit numb at the moment,” Davis said at the time. “I just didn’t expect to be in this situation”.
A brilliant amateur he turned professional in 2016 but to the surprise of everyone he struggled in the paid ranks, so much so that before his victory he had lost his card to play on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada and had never had a top-10 finish as a professional.
His amateur record had suggested he would breeze into the professional game as in 2015, he won the Australian Amateur and was a runner-up in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, behind China’s Jin Cheng. The following year he was part of the Australian team who won the Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico and he was also the individual winner.
Allenby is also a major coup for the tournament having won 21 titles worldwide. Now aged 46 he has triumphed four times on both the US PGA Tour and European Tour and claimed 13 tournaments in Australia. He has also finished in the top-10 of Major championships on five occasions and played in the Presidents Cup six times.
His compatriots in the field also boast impressive credentials. Fraser, is a three-time winner on the European Tour, Pilkadaris, has claimed three Asian Tour titles, while Bland has triumphed in Japan. Sinnott won the 2017 Myanmar Open and Zunic, narrowly missed out on winning last year’s Australian PGA Championship after losing in a sudden-death play-off to Cameron Smith.
